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No Destination: Columbia-Union Presbyterian Church

by
Peter Brackney

The oldest church in Columbia was erected just beyond the town's original boundary. Known only as the Columbia Presbyterian Church until 1925 when it took on the combined name with the Union Presbyterian Church (the county congregation, the congregations having actually merged in 1912), the church has a storied past.

The church was constructed in 1857 and contained a balcony for slaves, though the balcony was removed in1885. During the Civil War, the attic was used both as a lookout for rebel forces and as a place to make bullets. Doors inside the church were taken down following an 1863 skirmish and were used as stretchers to carry the wounded back to the church where the structure served as a temporary hospital. A 1908 renovation replaced the plain (or frosted) windows with the stained glass windows seen today.

The steps leading to the door of the sanctuary are original from 1857, hand carved from Kentucky marble (aka limestone).

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